Karl-Friedrich Scheufele

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Karl-Friedrich Scheufele - Chopard
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For GMT Publishing has created The Millennium Watch Book for the 20th anniversary of GMT Magazine, available for pre-order now. Read here an exclusive excerpt from the book.

On the occasion of GMT Magazine’s 20th anniversary (and WorldTempus’s upcoming 20th anniversary in 2021), we have embarked on the ambitious project of summarising the last 20 years in watchmaking in The Millennium Watch Book, a big, beautifully laid out coffee table book. The Millennium Watch Book is available exclusively now for pre-order at a discounted rate on www.the-watch-book.com, in French and English, with delivery aimed just in time for the holiday season. 

In the coming weeks, WorldTempus will be exclusively sharing excerpts from the book, to give you a taste.

Only a few days left to get an additional 10% discount on the Millennium Watch Book. To obtain your code, fill in the information requested in the dedicated area to the left of the article.

Here’s is an exclusive excerpt from our section “Who’s who”, where we name the 80 industry players, from CEOs to Creative Directors to retailers and independent watchmakers, who have indelibly shaped the last two decades of watches, written by those in the industry who perhaps know them best. For more information, visit www.the-watch-book.com.

Who’s who Karl-Friedrich Scheufele : Co-President of Chopard and President of Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud 

In 2000, Karl-Friedrich had been Co-President of Chopard for two years, alongside his sister Caroline (in charge of jewellery) – and was the very first watchmaking director interviewed for GMT, by yours truly. As vice-president since 1985, he had already initiated strategic partnerships to develop the brand’s notoriety, including with the Mille Miglia race in 1988. Raising Chopard’s profile remained one of his priorities, together with preserving the independence of the family group by integrating production and safeguarding knowhow (more than 50 different skills are now available in-house), all underpinned by a major commitment to sustainable development. The first L.U.C fine watches were released at the turn of the millennium, designed by the Fleury-based manufacture. Over the next twenty years, this resulted in a dozen or so calibers with some 80 different options. In 2008, a new production facility, Fleurier Ebauches, was opened, producing over 25,000 movements. And on the occasion of its 150th anniversary in 2010, Chopard became a member of the Responsible Jewellery Council, receiving the organisation’s accreditation for its compliance with environmental, labour, and ethical standards. This policy was embodied by a world first in 2014: the L.U.C Tourbillon QF Fairmined, made using Fairmined gold. Many other initiatives were to follow, confirming Chopard’s unwavering commitment to using only ethical gold – implemented for all its production since 2018. A further example is the L.U.C Full Strike, the first minute repeater watch to be made with Fairmined certified rose gold, which scooped an Aiguille d’Or award at the 2017 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. It wasn’t the first time Karl-Friedrich Scheufele had been the recipient of this supreme distinction: the previous year, he had won it for Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud, which he founded in 2015 to create top-end timepieces especially for collectors – an extremely rare double feat. The rise of the family group can also be measured in commercial terms, with the number of Chopard stores increasing from 56 in 2001 to over 150 by early 2020. This carefully managed growth has involved doubling the headcount at the head office in Geneva.

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